Game apparatus.



I T of the standards at the rear end of the alley.

This invention relates to a new and useful 1 v To all whom it mayconcern:

PATENT orrion. v

- 'EiJGENE FAHL. or sr. Iiot ns, MISSOURI.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed September 25, 1905.Serial No. 280,041.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

Be it known that I, EUGENE zen of the United States, residing at St.Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new FAHL, a citil shown inFig. 1. The forward end of the stationary section 7 is upwardlyinclined, so as to deliver the balls into a home trough 8, elevatedabove the level of the horizontal and useful Improvement in GameApparatus, I portion 1 of the alley, so as to place the balls of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings, formingpart 4 of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a detail view of, myimproved I game app aratus. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view throughthe ball-troughat the rearv end of the alley, and Fig. 3 is a detailviewof one improvement in game apparatus of-the class commonly known-ascocked hat, in which three pins areset up on an alley and the playerrolls the ball along the alley with the object of knocking down thepins.

Heretofore it has been the general practice to have a boy at the rearend of the alley, who after a player .had rolled his allotted number ofballs, usually three, would reset the pins and place the balls in thereturn trough leading to the front-end of the alley.

It is the object of my present invention to provide means forresettingthe 'pins which may be knocked down or'displaced by a playerand contemporaneously with the operation of such resetting mechanism toalso return .the balls to the forward end, of the alley; It is obvious,however, that-the resetting mechanism may be operated iridependently ofthe ball-restoring mechanism. With these objects in view the inventionconsists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of theseveral parts, all as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out inthe claims; 1

In the drawings, 1 indicates the alley, which may be of usual form, atthe back of which is an end wall provided with a buffer or cushion 2. Infront of this buffer andbeyond the horizontal portion of the alley 1 isa laterally-inclined floor portion 3, constituting the ball-trough fordischarging the balls through an opening in oneof the side walls 4 intoa trough-section 5. This trough-section is provided with a rear end wall6 and is inclined upwardly at its forward end and hinged to a stationarytrough-section 7, secured to the side of the alley 1 and whose rear endis preferably upwardly inclined, as

within convenient reach of the player. The free end of, the hingedtrough-section 5 has a cable9 connected thereto passing over apulley l0and extending forwardly to the front end of the alley, where it passesover another pulley 11, and thence downwardly to within convenient reachof the'player. After the balls have been rolled by a player and collected into the trough-section 5 the player pulls down on the forwardend of cable 9 and elevates the trough-section 5 so as to start theballs forwardly, impetus being gathered when the balls roll down theinclined portion at the rear end of the fixed portion of the trough,such impetus being arrested by the inclined portion at the forward endof the trough leading up to the home trough 8, so that when the ballsare delivered into the home trough they, have been deprived of theirmomentum sufficientlyto roll slowly into the home trough.

From the above it will be seen that the mechanism for returning theballs could be operated 'inde endently of the mechanism for resettingtie pins; but in the construction, shown in the drawings I have shownthe two mechanisms as being. connected, so that the act of restoring theballs also resets the pins, and vice versa.

I 12 indicates. pins which are designed to be set in osition at thecorners of an imaginary triang e at the rear end of the horizontalportion 1 of the alley. Each of these pins is provided with a flexiblecable 13, and each cable is preferably provided with a weight 14 for thepurpose of taking up slack on one side of said weight andplacing saidslack 0n the other side or below said wei ht. Cables 13 pass overpulleys 15, carrie by some suit able support or arranged in the ceilingof the alley-way, said cables passing forwardly and over pul eys 16 anddownwardly, preferably through guides 17, arranged on an upright board18, the back of which may be used for tally pur oses. Each of the cables13is provided wit a ring 19 at its forward end, which ring coacts withthe guide 1.7 and limits the movement of the cable under the'influenceof the slack take-up Weights 14.

20 indicates a channel-iron in the form of an inverted-U-shaped framesecured to the -the pins down.

side walls 4, the vertical legs of which form oontinuations ofverticalgrooves 21 in the inner faces of the side walls 4. In thesegrooves operates a frame consistingiof-vertical guide members 22,connected by upper and lower cross-pieces 23, which cross-pieces 23carry, respectively, a stop-board 24 and a positioning-board 25. Thepositionin board 25 is provided with openm s su' ciently large toreceive the upperen s of the pins 12. Through these openings and throughialin'ing but smaller openings inthe stop board 24 pass the cables 13.Guaccount of the smaller openings in thestopboard,such openings being ofsuch size as to permit only the tree passage of-the cables '13, theslack in -the cables below the weights 14E will usually be locatedabove-the stop-board.

26 indicates a cable connected to the crosspiece 23 and passing upwardlythroughan o enin in the connecting eross piece of the manne iron, and(thence over a pulley '27,

forwardly andover the pulley 28, and down 'wardly t'0..-a lever 29,pivotally conneetedto the upright 18. The pivotal point ofthisle ver-islocated some distance from the upright 18, so -that when the lever isturned down the pointof connection of-cable 26 therewith and the sideofthe pulley 28 over which said 'ca- Y ble passesare past the positiono'f-dead-cen- 5 t-erwvithrespect to 'the pivotal point-of the lever 29,and thus the lever when do Tossed will'be held insuch position without te employment of any special fastening device for such pur ose.

29 carriesa lugion wich is a pin '30.

"lhe operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that the pins areset and the-reset ira-me is :e'levated as shown in Fig. =1 and "theplayer rolls a ball, the -ba;l l --may strike one, pin and knock it:down or :may kno'ck-all-of i If one pin is s'truckand it is i desiredtomemove the deadwood from the alley,the pulls itdown until the ring 19is slippedover the pin 30. This will elevate the pin, as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 1, sothat the upper end "of the 'pin is 'in thepositioningboard, the upward movement of the pin bein-g stopped by thestop-board If another pin is knocked .down, it may also be elevated. Ifthree'pins are knocked down, they are elevated by pulling down theirproper cables and placing the rings on the forward ends of said cablesover the pin 30. After the ins areraised,:as described, the lever '29 isli ted and n be'ngliftedermits the frame and the pins positioned in theframe to'descend until the pins rest on the alley, at which time therings 1'9 will slip off of the pin 30, releasing the pinsandenabl-ingthe lever 29 to be again depressed, so as to raise thereset'ting-i rame from the'p'ins. The parts-are so proportioned thatwhe'n the lever 29 is raised and I the However, if desired, afastening-device could be employed. Lever playerselects thep-roper'cable and i pin 30. Weights 14 will of course cause the rings toslip from the pin, and then when the lever 29 is depressed the slackbelow the weights will be taken up above the stopboard.

Of course if only one pin has been knocked down it is only necessary toraise that pin into the frame for the purpose-of positioning it, whenthe lever can be manipulated and that pin properly positioned withrespect to the others.

I have heretofore referred to the fact that while theball-restoringmechanism. could be operated independently from the pinresetting mechanims the two mechanisms were intended to be operatedsimultaneously. This is effected by passing-the'cab'le 9 afterit extendsdown from the pulley 11 under a pulley 3 1 and connecting theendiof-saidcable to lever 29. It will be observed that by this arrangement lever 29when it -IS liited also lifts the lunged trough-section 5, and when saidlever is depressed the trough-sec- .tion is returned torits normalosition. The section is thus made to part ycounterbalance the weight :ofthe resettmg-frame, :and consequently less power is required tooperatethe lever 29.

1am aware that changes in the construction, arrangement, and-combination of the several parts of my device can be made .andsubstituted for those hereindescribed Without departing from the natureand principle of my invention.

Having *thus described the invention, what :is claimed as new, anddesired to be secured byLetter-s Patent, is

1. In a game :apparatus, the combination of pins, manually-operatedmeans for selectng and positioning individual ins, .and a movabledevicecooperating (wit all of the pins and adapted to be woperated by theplayer for resetting the pins after they have i een positionedsubstantially-as described.

2. n a game apparatus, the combination of a plurality of pins, a movableperforated frame for-positioning the pins, and manuallyoperated meansfor raising individual pins into said-frame substantially as described.

3. In a game apparatus, the combination of pins, a positioning framearranged above the pins, manually-operated means iorraising the pinsinto position in said frame, and means for lowering the frame and-pinssubstantially as described.

4. In a game apparatus, the combination,

ofpins, a positioning-frame, individual means for positioning the pinsin said frame, and means for lowering the frame and pins onto the alloy,the pin -positioning means being connected to said last-named means by=aslip connection which is automatically disenthe frame is permitted to beelevated away from the pins; substantially as described.

5. In a game a paratus, the combination of pins, a vertica l -slidableframe provided with openings for receiving the different pins, andmanually-operated cables connected with said pins and passing throughsaid openings, to draw the pins into the openings; substantially asdescribed.

6. In a game apparatus, the combination of pins, a vertically-slidableframe provided with openings, cables passing through said openings andconnected to said pins, a man-' ually-operated lever, a connectionbetween said lever and the frame, a device on said lever to which thepin-cables may be connected so that when said lever is actuated theframe and pins will move in unison; substan tially as described.

7. In a game apparatus, the combination of pins, a vertically-slidableframe for positioning said pins, cables connected to said pins, a leverfor raising and lowering the frame, and a slip connection for thepin-cables with said lever whereby when the frame and pins are loweredthe pin-cables are automatically released, permitting the frame to beraised, leaving the pins in their set positions; substantially asdescribed;

8. In a game apparatus, the combination of a vertically-slidable framehaving pin-positioning openings, manually-operated cables passingthrough said openings, pins connected to said cables, guiding devicesfor said cables located directly above the pins, and weights on saidcables between said guiding devices and said frame for taking up theslack substantially as described.

9. In a game apparatus, the combination of a movable-frame, pins havingmanuallyoperated cables connected thereto, for raising the pins intoposition in saidframe, and means for moving the frame and pins so as toset the pins in proper position on the alley,

said means being adapted to be operated in p the reverse direction forrestoring the frame to its normal position substantially as described.

10. In a game apparatus, the combination of a movablepin-resettingframe, a manuallyo erated lever for actuating said frame, ap urality of individuallyoperated cables adapted to be connected to saidlever, anda ball-restoring mechanism adapted to be connected to saidlever, so that whenever said lever is actuated the ball-restoringmechanism will be operated and said'pin-resetting mechanismsimultaneously; substantially as described.

11. In a game apparatus, the combination of pin-resetting mechanism, alever for operating the same, a ball-restoring mechanism connected toand operated by said lever, means for individually selecting andpositioning the different pins to be reset and connecting said pins tosaid operating-lever, whereby when said lever is operated to reset thepositioned pins on the alley the pins are automatically released whenset, the movement of said lever also operatingthe ball-restoring deviceto return the balls to the front end of the alley; substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 20th day of September, 1905.

EUGENE FAHL.

Witnesses:

F. R. CORNWALL, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

